Kenny Cunningham: ‘It would be a good thing to see the Israeli team come on to the pitch in Dublin’

Kenny Cunningham has outlined why he believes the Republic of Ireland should fulfil the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel. The former Ireland defender said the games should go ahead at neutral venues in Debrecen, Hungary on September 27th and behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia on October 4th, and expressed regret the latter tie is not happening at the Aviva Stadium. “I think the games should go ahead, and I think the home game should have gone ahead in Dublin, that’s my opinion,” said Cunningham, who was speaking at the launch of Premier Sports’ 2026/27 coverage. Following the tennis ball protest by fans at the Aviva Stadium during the international friendly against Qatar in May, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) cited “operational challenges that could impact on the delivery of the [Israel] game on home soil” as the reason for switching the October 4th fixture to Bačka Topola, a town in northern Serbia. READ MORE“I think there is a perception about how Irish people feel about Israel and Israeli foreign policies, and the Palestinian issue,” said Cunningham. “That is pretty much out there already. We all know where people stand, so I don’t feel cancelling this game takes the argument any further.“I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli team come on to the pitch in the Aviva. I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli national anthem respected inside the Aviva, because that for me would send a signal, maybe from the Irish people to the Israeli people who have suffered as well in this conflict.“On a human level, we are actually together here,” he continued. “There are politicians making decisions around this, but genuinely between the Israeli people and the Irish people there is a bit of understanding there on a human level about what has been happening. Fans display a 'Show Israel the red card' banner during the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium in September 2025. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho “We will respect your national anthem for those reasons. We’ll respect what you have been through on October 7th, the people you lost in harrowing circumstances, which precipitated the recent stage of the conflict.”Israel has not hosted international football since October 7th, 2023, when 1,200 Israelis were killed during Hamas attacks, with most of their games subsequently held in Hungary. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, ​according to Gaza health officials. More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into ​force last October.“I think the Irish public can show respect to the Israeli people, some of whom may actually agree to a certain extent with the opinions of Irish people,” said Cunningham. “Maybe some of the Israeli players are disgusted with their government and the conflict. “It is messy, but I think the game should have gone ahead in Dublin. It’s a very complex thing. I read as much as everybody else, I read my paper and I try and educate myself as best I can. It’s not just about the last two years, it’s about the last 50 years. “I’m not sure what the answer is to the conflict, but I don’t think us denying the Israelis a game in Dublin, or even cancelling the game, moves things any way forward in a positive way.”Looking ahead to Ireland’s Nations League campaign and the run-in to Euro 2028, Cunningham hopes Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson will readjust his 3-4-2-1 system to incorporate Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson in the same side. “I’m not a big fan of the narrow three up front, I think we can play with two central strikers, but then we never saw it in the summer so that was an opportunity missed. “If Evan gets himself fit are we going to play him and Troy, our two best strikers of the generation, in a partnership or is one of them shifted left of a front three and how’s that going to work?”Hallgrímsson will name his Nations League squad on September 17th ahead of the opening game in Kosovo on September 24th.